The tread on the tires on my wife's 2014 Chevy Equinox front-wheel-drive is thin. So time for new tires for that. The local Discount Tire made two recommendations:

- Continental Control Contact Tour A/S Plus

- Nokian Tire Encompass AW01

Any thoughts on these or other recommendations? (I've never heard of Nokian before.)

Meanwhile: While the tread on my 2015 AWD Jeep Grand Cherokee is still good, the tires are beginning to show cracks.

Discount Tire recommended Michelin Defender LTX for that.

In the past we've had good luck with BF Goodrich Touring T/A and Long Trail T/A tires.

Also, the rims on the Jeep are suffering corrosion. DT says once that starts the only thing to be done is replace them. They managed to stop a slow leak around one valve stem, but it's only a matter of time before it comes back or another one starts doing the same. Or I start getting rim leaks.

Can anybody recommend a rim manufacturer whose rims won't degrade like this after only seven years?

Look for a rim repair and refurb shop, they can clean up, straighten, re-coat the exiting wheels, change color, whatever you like...

If anyone in the house is on marketplace, search for your appropriate model or years of compatibility under rims and tires. You might find a deal on brand new pull off ready for use. Save you a lot of headache on refurbishing the old rims.

No experience with the Conti or Nokian.
But, I very much disliked the runflat Contis that came on my 2015 Mercedes C300. Very short tread life [16k miles] & they were very stiff [as most runflats are].

I was going to put a set of Michelin Pilot Sport AS3+ on my Malibu, but Discount had a really good deal on Yokohama YK740GTX. Happy with them in the 10 months I've had them on.
We had the Pilot Sport AS3+ on our Flex & they were amazing, but they are pricey. Was just shy of $1k a set, installed.

Planning on the Michelin LTX on our Expedition when it's time to replace the Toyo that are on it now. But we've got a ways to go on them.

I just put on a set of Michelin Defender LTX on my wifes' Ford Escape. They replaced the LTX MS/2 which is the older version of the Defender. The old set had 69,000 miles on them and still had 6/32 of tread. I live in an area where there is only one road out of my area and it can drift badly in the winter or I would have left the old tires on for another year.

You may find that your choices are limited: I looked at Continentals and a General model for good winter traction but nobody could locate them. More supply chain issues.

There is a wheel/rim repair / refurb shop in Chicago. I'd be surprised if not one or more even closer to you

Continental AG is a Germany-based tire manufacturer.

My 2016 Yukon XL Denali came from the assembly plant with Continental tires as OEM equipment. We got ~75,000 miles on them when we cut down a side wall on curbing in a parking lot. Until then, they performed well in rain and snow.

I bought Continental Extreme Contact tires for my 1996 Corvette last summer. They really stick to to the road and the Corvette gets excellent traction.

When I owned and rode a 1977 BMW R100/7, the bike had Continental tires on it. Put a couple of sets of Contis on that bike while I owned it.

Michelin does make really good tires. Great performance and long lasting. I have them on a 2008 GMC Envoy. Great snow and rain performance.

I have no experience with Nokian.
Good luck with your decision.

I put a new set of Conti tires on my 300ZX. I liked them, but the rear tires were GONE in 9K miles(I don't punish my tires). Never again.

Did DT offer to sell you a set of wheels,too?

Maybe it’s just my local store but I’ve noticed that the last couple of times I’ve gone in there is a lot more emphasis on upsell than in the past.

quote:

Originally posted by shovelhead:
Did DT offer to sell you a set of wheels,too?

Well, yeah, after I went in there to have them find and fix a slow leak and it turned out it was around a valve stem, due to corrosion of the valve stem seat.

When I mentioned it to the dealership they replied "yup," agreeing with DT.

Thanks for the replies, guys!

quote:

Originally posted by AITG:
You may find that your choices are limited

That is indeed what we're finding. So asking here may be an exercise in futility as we'll have to settle for what we can get.

I've only used Nokian Hakks for snow tires.
They've been around a long time.

I'm debating the WR G4 all weather tires for my next time.

The Encompass is a newer all weather tire design I believe.

As previously suggested, your existing wheels can be resurfaced and fixed. I did the same on a BMW a few years ago.
Moisture and aluminum don't like each other. It is surface corrosion/pitting. Sanding it down smooth works, and is very inexpensive compared to a new set of wheels.

I've always been a Michelin user in the past but for the latest I've switched to Continentals. Both for mileage and cost reasons. Both my Explorer and my wife's Lexus RX 350.

My biggest consideration here is ride quality/noise and longevity.

We've had them for about a year and a half so far and I believe they are as good or better in all those areas.

I don't have to deal with the other issues you do, snow & ice and corrosion so not much help there. Maybe look for a used take-off rim somewhere.

I've never heard of Nokian tires and was pleasantly surprised to see they are made in Finland and the USA.

I have had multiple sets of Michelin LTX on multiple Suburbans over the last 10 years. They make a great tire.

Any Costco's near you? I always buy mine there.

quote:

Originally posted by holdem:
Any Costco's near you? I always buy mine there.

Yes, two of them, but DT has treated us so well, over the years, I'm disinclined to go anywhere else.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
Yes, two of them, but DT has treated us so well, over the years, I'm disinclined to go anywhere else.

Suggest you at least check the prices. There are times when Costco was the best price, but only by $50 or so, which ain't huge on a $1,100-$1,400 purchase. But there are other times they have beat my other quote by well over $300.

Ok, order's in. Michelin CrossClimate 2's for my wife's Equinox. Michelin LTX M/S' and a set of new American Racing wheels for my Jeep.

The total

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
Ok, order's in. Michelin CrossClimate 2's for my wife's Equinox.

Good choice. I put these on my daily driver over a year ago. I really like them.

quote:

Originally posted by Jelly:

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
Ok, order's in. Michelin CrossClimate 2's for my wife's Equinox.

Good choice. I put these on my daily driver over a year ago. I really like them.

Thanks. Both those and the tires I chose for the Jeep get good reviews and ratings everywhere we looked.

quote:

Michelin LTX M/S

The worst thing about these is they will be all you buy going forward for anything where they are an option.

Enjoy.